Reproductive behavior: concept, types, structure, factors and features

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

We all are well aware of such concepts as "the instinct of procreation", "maternal instinct" and "parental instinct". Each of them determines the natural need of a person to have children. However, according to psychologists, such a desire has no connection with the biological characteristics of a person. The phenomenon is a social number. At the same time, it can be expressed not only in the desire to have children, but also in the unwillingness to do so. All these factors are included in such a concept as "reproductive behavior" of a person. It is from him that the decision on the birth of the child will depend. Consider the concept and structure of reproductive behavior. This will allow us to understand the demographic situation that is developing in society and ways to correct it.

Definition of concept

Reproductive behavior is a vast system that includes psychological states, actions and attitudes directly related to the birth or refusal to have children, regardless of their order, outside of marriage ormarried. This concept also includes the decision of the spouses to adopt a child.

The formation of reproductive behavior occurs under the influence of ethnic, ethno-cultural, economic and political factors. It manifests itself in the form of people's reaction to internal and external incentives for family planning and procreation, including public opinion and family traditions, awareness of the value of children, and so on.

In its concentrated form, human reproductive behavior is a series of actions called the appropriate strategy. This is all that happened from the moment the decision was made to conceive a child until he was born. Research on reproductive behavior makes it possible to explain the changes that it has undergone throughout the history of the development of human society. Their goal is also to explain the impact on the processes of fertility of the family policy pursued by the state, the living conditions of people and their psyche.

Types of reproductive behavior

In the history of the development of human society, the attitude of people to the birth of children has undergone some changes. This led to the identification of several types of reproductive behavior. The first of them was characteristic of the prehistoric stage in the development of human society. During that period, reproductive behavior was formed, as a rule, spontaneously. It was only the biological laws of reproduction that affected him. Unlimited childbearing was a necessity for the survival of people in conditions of high mortality, which was carried by disease, hunger andwar.

The second historical type of reproductive behavior of the population was the one that was characteristic of the period of feudal agrarian production. In these times, intentions to have children were regulated by the norms set by the church, traditions, state and public opinion. In countries with a predominantly rural population, among the features of reproductive behavior, one could single out its attachment to the annual cycles of agricultural work, as well as to the observance of fasts. Quite tough during this period was the control over childbearing in each individual family. On the one hand, it was based on high mortality, and on the other hand, on the limited territory. To maximize the number of children in society, there were norms for widespread and early marriage.

From an early age, parents used their child as an assistant in household affairs, as well as for raising younger sisters and brothers. In addition, given the very low productivity of labor, children were a source of labor for the family. Numerous offspring contributed to the growth of the authority of parents in society. All of the above factors had the most beneficial effect on reproductive behavior. At the same time, the motivation of the need to increase the birth rate and maintain it at the highest level grew among people.

During the formation of capitalism, the third type of reproductive behavior was developed. In this historical era, medicine began to develop intensively. At the same time, there was an improvement in sanitary and hygienic conditions.people's lives, resulting in a significant reduction in child mortality. A similar factor led to the emergence of two types of human reproductive behavior. One of them focused on large families, and the second - on small families.

In most economically developed countries, the increase in the average age of marriage was the basis for regulating the number of children. Over time, the usefulness of the child to the parents began to decline. After the introduction of general as well as special education, children began to start working at a later age. In this regard, the material burden of parents on their maintenance has increased. The economic usefulness of children began to recede into the background. With their birth, parents began to satisfy only their emotional and social need for procreation. At the same time, adults had to earn enough money to support their children, improve their social status, and spend more time outside the family. As a result, a contradiction arose. It was expressed in the difference between the reproductive interests of society and the family.

About the first half of the 20th century. we know as the period of women's struggle for their emancipation. It was then that the fourth type of reproductive behavior arose. It is characterized by a revision of views on the relationship of representatives of different sexes in society and in the family. In addition, due to the decline in the second half of the 20th century. infant mortality, the fear of childlessness in the event of the birth of a small number of children was eliminated. Women began to take an active part invarious areas of social production. This allowed them to become economically independent and make their own decisions about having children.

Structure

Reproductive behavior is a combination of the following components:

• needs for children;
• reproductive installations;
• motives for childbearing;
• solutions;
• action.

Consider all of the above elements. They are part of the structure of reproductive behavior.

Need for children

Among all the existing factors of human reproductive behavior, this one is one of the most basic. At the same time, being part of the general system of individual needs, this element occupies a leading position in the social sphere, along with the desire for family and marriage, to be realized as a person, to get an education, etc.

Factors that influence a person's reproductive behavior when considering the need for children do not include their sexual need. After all, her satisfaction does not at all imply the birth of a child. Moreover, with the development of mankind, sexual relations to a lesser and lesser extent serve as a means for procreation. The birth of a child is more facilitated by special motivation, which is not biological, but socio-psychological.

The need for children is a property of a socialized personality. It manifests itself in the fact that an individual who has not become a parent experiences difficulties in his own self-realization. SuchDifficulties arise in him in ascertaining marital status. One such example is meeting acquaintances who have not seen each other for a long time. In this case, an involuntary assessment of the behavior of the individual is carried out based on the prevailing reproductive norms, which are patterns and principles of behavior related to childbearing, adopted by society or individual social groups. Like any other, these norms are assimilated by a person as a means of orienting behavior.

The basics of reproductive behavior regarding the needs of children are:

1. The desire of a person to have as many children as is typical for the society in which he lives. This also includes the desire to give them a quality education.
2. Love of children. This concept represents deeply internalized attitudes towards children in general.

Desire Intensity

The need for children is not subject to change under the influence of living conditions or when they change. Only family situations can develop in different ways. It is they who will either contribute to or hinder the satisfaction of the individual's need for children.

Distinguish a certain strength or intensity of the desire to have a child. Moreover, this factor remains unchanged throughout a person’s life. In this regard, reproductive behavior is classified into:

• small children, when there is one or two children in the family;
• average (three or four children);
• large (from five children).

Reproductive installations

In the behavior of the individualWith regard to the desire to have children, there are three directions. The first one has to do with childbearing. The second is with the prevention of the very fact of conception. Third, with abortion.

The choice of one direction or another depends on the second element, which is part of the structure of reproductive behavior. The attitude towards childbearing is a socio-psychological regulator that determines either a positive or negative attitude towards the presence of a certain number of children in a family. The formation of this element occurs in a person even before he passes through puberty. This was confirmed by surveys conducted among children. Their results clearly demonstrated a specific orientation towards the creation of a large or small family. Moreover, in children, such a decision is due in most cases to the reproductive behavior of their parents. An important role is played in such planning by the relationships that take place between family members.

Components of the reproductive attitude

The socio-psychological regulator of childbearing includes three components:

1. Cognitive. This component can be called rational. It has a direct impact on the decision on the number of children, as well as the difference in their age.
2. Affective. This is the emotional component of the structure of reproductive behavior. It has a direct impact on the formation of negative or positive feelings that are associated with the birth of a particular number of children or with the refusalhuman from their birth.
3. Ethical. This is the moral component of the attitude. Thanks to him, the responsibility and will of a person who makes a decision about the birth of a certain number of children and their upbringing is formed.

Of all the listed components of the dominant attitude, only one of them can have a major influence on every person who decides to become a parent.

There are three indicators that are the main indicators of the reproductive attitude. This is the average expected number of children. It can be ideal, desired and expected. The first of these indicators is a woman's or a man's idea of the most likely number of children an average-income family can have. It doesn't have to be your own. The average desired number indicates the need for a woman and a man to have one or another number of children in their own family. And a person will definitely come to this if nothing can prevent this.

The average expected number is the number of children that spouses plan to have, taking into account all the circumstances of their lives. Elucidation of this indicator of reproductive behavior in the family is of great practical importance. It allows you to predict the trend of fertility in the country.

Reproductive motives

This element of the structure of attitudes towards childbearing represents the mental states of the individual, prompting him to achieve his goals due to the appearance of a child in any order in the family.

The reproductive behavior strategy includes the followingtypes of motifs:

1. Economic. Such motives encourage people to have children to achieve certain goals related to the acquisition of material benefits, as well as to maintain or improve their financial status.
2. Social. The motives of reproductive behavior of this direction serve as an individual reaction of people to the existing socio-cultural norms of childhood. That is, a person wants to live “like everyone else”, having as many children “as everyone has.”
3. Psychological. These motives encourage the replenishment of the family to achieve any purely personal goals. An example of this is the desire to have a child in order to give him love, take care of him and see him as his continuation.

Besides this, all reproductive motives can be divided into two classes. In the first of them, parents are considered as subjects of behavior. It is from them that various aspirations and feelings go to children. This is the desire to show care and love for the child, his guardianship, direction in development, etc.

The second class includes motives where parents are objects. This includes everything that can satisfy the need of parents to receive respect, love from the child, as well as to find the meaning of life, etc.

The proportion of economic, social, and psychological motives in the structure of reproductive behavior is constantly changing. And today we can say that this trend reflects the global process of the withering away of large families, which occurs throughout the entire period of developmenthuman society. It is noted that in modern society, social and economic motives that imply the presence of several children in a family are practically disappearing. At the same time, internal motives, that is, psychological ones, come to the fore.

Reproductive Solutions

How does the mechanism that determines the situation of satisfaction of a person's need for childbearing work? It is worth noting that reproductive decisions are not made on their own. They are completely dependent on the specific situation in society and in the family.

Based on the results obtained during the sociological analysis, the researchers concluded that in conditions of large families, as well as in conditions of small families, there is a certain “zone of freedom of choice”. Within its limits, the implementation of the reproductive choice of the family takes place. So, in conditions of small families, it narrows significantly.

In reproductive behavior, two types can be distinguished, allowing us to correlate the results obtained with the possibility of truly free choice. The first one is routine. The second is problematic.

Routine is behavior when there is no choice at all. A person does not make independent decisions, and the results always correspond to the expected ones, determined only by the current social norms. The whole chain of actions, events and relationships unfolds automatically. At the same time, there are no obstacles and surprises on her way. Routine behavior occurs, for example, in cases where the spouses do not have the satisfaction of the need for children, and they strive as much as possiblerealize this desire faster. In this case, they do not choose or decide anything. Their behavior is routine and automatic. Conception occurs, the pregnancy develops normally, and after the due date the baby is born.

However, something unexpected can interfere with the course of the event, turning into a barrier for the spouses. In this case, the result will not meet expectations. This leads to the development of a problematic situation. You can only allow it if you exercise your free choice.

A similar problem can be the lack of the desired conception and childbirth. Moreover, a similar situation can take place in a large and small family. This problem can be solved with the use of all available methods of treatment.

Sometimes new phenomena of reproductive behavior in the family are the result of a crisis and disorganization of marriage ties. Moreover, at present, this is facilitated by the spontaneous development of a civilization of an industrial-urban type. Such a direction significantly deepens the crisis in the family, leads to an increase in its functioning and life of various negative phenomena, and also brings this primary unit of society to complete collapse. The state can counteract such a change only through the implementation of a special family policy focused on its strengthening and revival.

Reproductive activities

Such an element in the general system of procreation reflects the results of this direction of human behavior. They can be the appearance of a child of any order in the family or the use of contraceptives.

According to research, there is currently a decline in interest in increasing the number of children in the family. Factors directly affecting this trend are:

• the desire to obtain secondary specialized or higher education, as well as career growth;
• desire to achieve economic well-being and purchase your own home;
• involvement of women in social production;
• tolerance for cohabitation and premarital sex;
• late age for marriage;
• rising divorce rate;
• low level of financial assistance from the state to families raising children;
• not enough preschools.

Due to these factors, the reproductive function for the inhabitants of Russia is beginning to become secondary.